Festivals

celebrate community

From north to south, communities throughout Pinellas County celebrate arts and culture art festivals year-round.

SHINE Mural Festival

Made up of artists from St. Petersburg and across the globe, SHINE is an art project intended to illuminate the power of art in public spaces by revitalizing areas, inspiring dialogue, and uniting the community — while cultivating new standards of artistic excellence and reflecting the community’s creative and vibrant spirit.

Each year, the festival showcases new vibrant, creative and inspiring murals painted by an artist pool of creatives from Tampa Bay, across the nation and around the world. The infusion of new pieces into downtown’s urban landscape further enriches the city’s public outdoor gallery, adding new styles — from colorful geometric patterns to delicately rendered realism — all expertly painted on large walls and even on street intersections.

Downtown St. Petersburg shineonstpete.com

Clearwater Jazz Holiday

From its first days of pop-up concerts in the back of a flatbed truck in 1979 to its current exuberant celebration of an internationally recognized American art, the Clearwater Jazz Holiday draws thousands of visitors each year to beautiful downtown Clearwater against the backdrop of the Gulf of Mexico, warm breezes, brilliant sunsets, and one of the world’s greatest beaches. The festival features a combination of legendary and relevant musical artists and an amazingly diverse fan base.

From rock to blues to smooth jazz and featuring legendary jazz musicians, the Clearwater Jazz Holiday offers audiences a captivating blend of emerging artists alongside classic legends over an unparalleled weekend of straight-ahead sounds, swing beats, Americana grooves, funk vibes, Zyedco magic, and more.

Clearwater clearwaterjazz.com

Dunedin Art Harvest

Art Harvest began over 58 years ago as a small arts gathering, and has evolved into a highly respected, juried art show with over 200 artists representing a balance of media — from ceramics, fiber and wood to digital, glass, and oil/ acrylic. As the largest autumn art show in the Tampa Bay area and run by the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin, the event stands as both a community project that brings the arts to the people as well as a fundraiser to support community activities.

More than 30,000 visitors come to the annual Art Harvest to find their favorite artists, buy their holiday gifts, take their youngsters to the Children’s Art Pavilion, and wander the winding aisles of art while partaking in food from local vendors.

Highlander Park

jlcd.org/art-harvest

1937 Ed Eckert Dr, Dunedin 727-738-5523

MLK Dream Big Weekend

The MLK Dream Big Parade is the nation’s longest-running parade honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Every year, more than 130 dance groups, church groups, bands and more join together to excite the crowd gathered in downtown St. Petersburg. The parade hosts 10 high school bands, five middle school bands, and five college bands from all over the country.

Prior to the MLK Day Parade, the weekend celebration kicks-off with a Music and Arts Festival and the MLK Band Showcase. After the parade, the community continues the celebration at the Family Fun Day festivities. This event has free admission and plenty of activities, games, art, and more. Local food vendors offer up Southern cuisine and barbecue to hungry attendees.

But it’s not just a party. The MLK Dream Big Weekend event invites civic groups to set up at Family Fun Day for free to offer their social services to the community. The purpose is to uplift the people through service and an embracing of everyone’s humanity.

Downtown St. Petersburg

mlkdreambig.com

727-321-7919

Tampa Bay Afrofuturism Festival

The Tampa Bay Afrofuturism Festival (TBAFF) will be held annually with free pop-up events happening throughout St. Pete, Largo, Clearwater, and Tampa.

The unique festival highlights the Afrofuturism cultural movement, exploring the past/present/future of the Black and Brown community in Tampa Bay through art, tech, music, film, live events, and education.

Featuring panel discussions, live music and spoken word events, intergenerational arts and crafts workshops, a vendor market, film screenings, and more, TBAFF elevates the mission of Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project (PDAP) to bring Tampa Bay family-focused arts and wellness events that support, encourage, and promote Black and Brown art and artists.

Tampa Bay Area

tbaff.com

727-612-5828

Mainsail Art Festival

Mainsail is one of St. Pete’s most anticipated spring events, as locals and visitors from around the country and the world enjoy seeing and buying award- winning work in ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, oil/ acrylic, photography, sculpture, and watercolors.

Awarding $60,000 in prize money, Mainsail is one of the most soughtafter invitations among exhibiting artists. Mainsail features more than 250 renowned visual artists, plus performing artists, strolling entertainment, and a variety of culinary delights.

The family-friendly event offers children’s activities and a Young at Art student showcase. Sunshine Artist Magazine’s annual artists’ survey recently ranked Mainsail in the top 15 of the 100 best fine art festivals in the U.S.

Vinoy Park

mainsailart.org

701 Bay Shore Dr NE, St. Petersburg

Sunscreen Film Festival

Today, Sunscreen boasts an annual attendance of over 10,000! The Sunscreen Film Festival is a celebration of independent film and includes feature films, foreign films, documentaries, shorts, animation, and web series. Each year, filmmakers travel from around the world to attend the event and to screen their films. Celebrities also make an appearance, including recent visitors John Travolta, Joe Pantoliano, Dylan McDermott, Paul Sorvino, Kelly Preston and more.

The festival offers workshops throughout each day dealing with issues relevant to filmmaking (screenwriting, financing, directing, acting, etc). Taught by industry experts, they offer a terrific opportunity for local filmmakers to learn and exchange ideas. An annual Women in Film Brunch highlights women filmmakers.

The festival also puts a strong emphasis on student films and local films, functioning as a platform for the filmmakers’ works to be seen.

sunscreenfilmfestival.com

151 2nd Ave N, St. Petersburg

St. Pete Pride

The St. Pete Pride Festival and parade is Tampa Bay’s largest LGBTQIA+ Pride celebration. Thousands of people participate in the parade, celebrating the power and beauty of diversity with over 200,000 people in attendance.

Pride also hosts a festival that draws more than 50,000 people, creating the largest community event of the season. Visitors enjoy a day of live performances and entertainment, community booths, art, and food.

Pride activities include the SP2 concert, a fundraising event to assist in funding various Tampa Bay community organizations. A mix of various bands and local singers help heat up the day, and to help everyone stay cool, vendors sell beverages that benefit the St. Pete Pride Community Grants Program.

stpetepride.com

2227 Central Ave, St. Petersburg 727-342-0084

GeckoFest

This quirky family-friendly street festival has become one of Tampa Bay’s most anticipated annual celebrations. Combining the artistic energy of Gulfport with the colorful flair of Mardi Gras, GeckoFest includes live music on three stages, over 200 art, craft and food vendors, children’s activities, street performers, and costumed characters.

A costume contest and parade, a thrilling fire and acrobatics show, and the famous street dance round out a fun-filled day for the whole family.

Gulfport

geckofest.com

5500 Shore Blvd S, Gulfport